Walstons in Egypt 2024-2026

  We held a "give-away" of donated clothing and toys. We put the items in 3 different rooms. This is the one with the clothes. At the end of the 3 hours we held the event everything was gone. Members took large bags of things. They were only supposed to take 5 items at a time, but it ended up to be more like 5 bags full at a time. They needed about everything. Kathleen had put 2 unmatched socks in the garbage can and one person pulled them out and said he needed them. Such is the need here. We continue to have investigators come to our home for dinner and a gospel discussion. This week we had only 3 come. There are 2 others who also are now coming. The fourth person closest to me is Bahar Marcous, who was our branch president here. The others are Maged, Guirgis, and Laila. Guirgis is the most interested in joining the church now. Kathleen and I found a Mexican restaurant in Maadi. It was good for a change but none of the workers spoke Spanish! Kathleen helped organize an orig...

We stopped at Ratios Bakery for treats to take to the other couple's apartment for our coordination meeting. This is a very popular bakery in Maadi where we live. The prices are a bit expensive for Egypt but the food is very good. We had the other couple, Maire and Dave Whipple to our apartment the evening before New Years with Wael, whose family is in Syria. They went home by 9 pm, as the Whipples, although younger than us also like to go to bed early. We walked out to Wael's apartment today to see his carvings. This boy with the bread on his head was riding on the bicycle when I pulled out my phone to take the picture. The vehicle next to him is a 3-wheel tuttut. For about 15 pounds one can get a short ride within the city. We have only ridden it a couple of times and held on for dear life. Here are some of Wael's carvings. In my opinion this is one of Wael's best carvings. He wanted to give it to us, but I insist on paying him. I will pay him more than he would want ...